It's about time: J.D. Drew hits his first walk-off hit for the Red Sox (in the 14th inning)

It's only fitting that a game that goes 14 innings (the longest Boston Red Sox game of the season), complete with a four-run lead blown in the ninth and having two players ejected, that J.D. Drew delivered the first walk-off hit of his Red Sox career.

Things were going well for Boston (32-26) as they went into the bottom of the ninth up 7-3 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park on the Oakland A's (27-32).

Then closer Jonathan Papelbon started giving up hits in a non-save situation like he always does and before you knew it, he was tossed along with catcher Jason Varitek for arguing balls and strikes.

Oakland tied it up at 7 in the ninth and both teams scored a run in the 11th before Drew (2 hits, 2 RBIs) drove in Carl Crawford (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) in the 14th for the winning run.

Alfredo Aceves (3-1) was the unsung hero and turned out to be the winner as he went the last four innings for the Red Sox. He allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

It's hard to remember since this game went five hours and 17 minutes but this started out as a tasty pitching matchup between A's stud Trevor Cahill and Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. As usual, that's not how the game unfolded.

Cahill went seven innings but he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Beckett went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Things got off to a good start for Boston as Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer (his 11th of the season) in the first. Drew added an RBI single, driving in Crawford in the fifth, for a 2-0 lead.

Josh Willingham tied it up in the sixth with a two-run single in the sixth. The Red Sox responded with three runs. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI single, Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double and Crawford had an RBI single in the frame.

Cliff Pennington drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh but Crawford's two-run double in the eighth made it 7-3 good guys.

You knew something was up in the ninth when Pedroia let a routine grounder go through his legs, scoring a run. Pennington had an RBI double and Conor Jackson tied it with an RBI single as Papelbon melted down literally and figuratively (the first ejection of his career).

Ryan Sweeney put Oakland ahead with a sacrifice fly in the 11th but Jacoby Ellsbury (4 hits, 2 steals) tied it with an RBI double which knocked in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Boston goes for the sweep today but I wouldn't bet on them since John Lackey returns from the DL and his rehab stint in the minors. He faces Oakland lefty Brett Anderson, who is good and typically gives the Red Sox trouble.

White Sox sweep the Red Sox at Fenway Park

For the life of me I can't figure out why, since they're not particularly good, but you can't dispute the ironclad fact that the Chicago White Sox own Fenway Park right now.

After polishing the Boston Red Sox off yesterday afternoon 7-4 for a three-game series sweep, Chicago (27-31) won its seventh straight at Fenway. They're 13-2 against Boston (30-26) in their last 15 games and 9-1 since the start of last season. What do you want me to do, call the White Sox my daddy? (Pedro Martinez reference).

A 3-0 lead for the home team didn't mean much as Tim Wakefield (6 innings, 4 earned runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts) and the Boston bullpen melted down in a rare midweek afternoon game.

Gavin Floyd (6-5) was shaky at first but he settled down and got the win. He went 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and a strikeout.

The Red Sox put up three in the second inning as Jed Lowrie drove in David Ortiz with a ground-rule double and Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked in two with a single.

Brent Lillibridge got an RBI double in the fourth to pull Chicago within 3-1 before the White Sox tied it in the fifth. Alexei Ramirez (3 hits, 3 run) drove in a run with a ground out before Carlos Quentin hit an RBI double. Wakefield could have got out of the inning on a clear out on the basepaths by Juan Pierre but that's not how the goober umpire saw it. Instead, Quentin got the hit and Boston spiraled out of control.

Lillibridge hit a solo homer in the sixth but Ortiz answered with his 13th of the season in the bottom of the frame to tie it at four.

It was the Paul Konerko show from there as he had an RBI double in the seventh which scored Ramirez and then a two-run bomb (scoring Ramirez) in the ninth off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.

White Sox closer Sergio Santos got a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his ninth save of the season.

Matt Albers (1-3) was charged with the loss after giving up three hits (including Konerko's double). He has come back to Earth after a great start in his Red Sox career.

Some scary stuff too as Rich Hill threw a pitch and then came out with an elbow injury. Dice-K is going to be out for the entire season with Tommy John surgery but nobody cares about that. Hill was a local guy that had found himself this season with Boston. Hope he's OK. Plus, he was the Red Sox' only lefty in the bullpen. Hideki Okajima is in Pawtucket but he has nothing left at this point. Theo Epstein is going to have to get some more reliable bullpen options.

The Red Sox are grateful to have a day off today after going for almost three straight weeks without one (and no, the last three days don't count). The Oakland A's come to town this weekend for a three-game set.

Should I tell the Red Sox that the White Sox are terrible?

The summer weather is finally here but with the Boston Bruins in their first Stanley Cup finals in 21 years, the Boston Red Sox have a few more weeks of anonymity before everybody starts paying more attention to their games.

It's a good thing that nobody cares right now since the Red Sox (30-25) aren't playing very well at the moment. Boston dropped its third straight game overall, 10-7 last night at Fenway Park to the Chicago White Sox (26-31).

As long as Ozzie Guillen has been manager of the White Sox, they've always had lineups that could put up big numbers since they hit bombs. The lack of starting pitching and shaky bullpens has made them an afterthought in the crappy American League Central, making them miss the playoffs the last few seasons.

I don't expect Chicago to do much this season either but they look like they're about to sweep the Red Sox at Fenway which would be pretty embarrassing.

Alfredo Aceves (2-1) for Boston last night and he didn't have it after excelling in his first two spot starts. In five innings, he was knocked around for eight runs (six earned) on eight hits with three walks and a strikeout.

Journeyman Phil Humber (4-3) started for Chicago and he continued his surprisingly good season. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

For the second straight, the White Sox got out to a quick start and never looked back from there. They put up four runs in the second and one in the third for an early 5-0 lead. Gordon Beckham (3 hits) had an RBI single in the second, Brett Morel followed with a fielder's choice, Alexei Ramirez (4 hits, 3 RBIs) had an RBI single and A.J. Pierzynski added a ground-rule double.

Jason Varitek got the Red Sox on the board with a solo homer in the second, his second of the season.

Ramirez had another RBI single in the fourth before the White Sox put up three in the sixth on an RBI single by Juan Pierre, RBI double by Carlos Quentin and sacrifice fly by Paul Konerko.

The Red Sox added some runs in garbage time to make it close but Chris Sale came on to strike out Adrian Gonzalez on three pitches for his second save of the season.

Drew Sutton had an RBI single in the eighth and David Ortiz hit a three-run homer (his 12th of the season). Josh Reddick added a sacrifice fly in the ninth and Sutton had an RBI double.

Scott Atchison gave up two earned runs on four hits in relief. Bobby Jenks made his first appearance since May 1 and threw a scoreless eighth despite giving up two hits. Dan Wheeler had a scoreless ninth where he worked around a walk and a hit.

Tim Wakefield starts this afternoon against Gavin Floyd in the series finale. The Red Sox need a win before they have tomorrow off. Gotta get back to the roll they were on for most of May now that June is here.

Red Sox honor the troops and veterans on Memorial Day by laying down to the White Sox

Boston (30-24) came home last night for the start of a homestand against the Chicago White Sox (25-31) at Fenway Park and they lost again, 7-3.

A two-game losing streak is hardly news in baseball, the streakiest of all sports, but more puzzling was Jon Lester's latest struggles. Lester (7-2) had an seven-game win streak snapped but that was deceiving since he hadn't pitched well in his last few starts but still picked up wins.

Last night, he threw a season-high 127 pitches but only went 5.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

The White Sox were bolstered by Jake Peavy (2-0) who many moons and shoulder surgeries ago used to be one of baseball's best pitchers. The hard drinking, dippin' good old boy went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.

Chicago loaded the bases in the first inning and A.J. Pierzynski (2 hits) came through with a two-run single up the middle.

Boston got a run back in the first as Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) crushed his tenth homer of the season, a solo shot into the Red Sox bullpen.

Providence, RI native Paul Konerko (2 hits) smacked a solo homer over the Monster in the third for a 3-1 White Sox lead.

Dustin Pedroia tied it up in the third with a two-run single of his own.

That's as close as the Red Sox would get through as Alexei Ramirez (2 hits) knocked Lester out of the game with a bloop two-run double in the sixth. The next batter, Carlos Quentin, added a two-run single off Dan Wheeler and that was it.

Alfredo Aceves goes for his third straight solid start tonight as he takes on Phil Humber.

Call me a jerk but I honestly hope Dice-K and Lackey never return

When did the 2011 Boston Red Sox become such a wagon?

Holy shit, they've won 12 out of their last 14 games after a tidy 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers last night at Comerica Park.

As I said yesterday about Alfredo Aceves, spot starter Tim Wakefield (2-1) is doing an excellent job and at this point, I hope John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka never return. It's much more satisfying to watch two guys with low expectations succeed as opposed to overpaid bums that were never good fits here anyways.

The Red Sox (29-22) are also alone in the American League East after the Yankees lost last night in Seattle. The Tigers (25-25) haven't shown much of a pulse yet against Boston this season, falling to 0-4.

Wakefield went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Detroit's Rick Porcello (4-3) only lasted three innings as he allowed six earned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first as he scored on wild pitch by Porcello.

Miguel Cabrera tied it up in the first with an RBI single which scored Austin Jackson. The Tigers took their only lead of the game in the second when Jhonny Peralta hit a bomb (solo) off Wakefield.

Any thoughts of a win for the miserable people in Detroit was quickly extinguished as the Red Sox hung five runs on Porcello in the third. Ellsbury hit a solo homer (his sixth), Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run double and Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer (his fourth of the season).

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth on six pitches but Peralta hit an RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon (non-save situation) in the ninth but who cares?

Clay Buchholz takes the mound tonight for Boston against Detroit rookie lefthander Andy Oliver (who was called up when Phil Coke rolled his ankle the other night). Good luck to you guy, Red Sox are mashing right now.

Alfredo Aceves is better than John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, true story my friends

Baseball is a funny game. When you're a big market team like the Boston Red Sox you can afford terrible hiccups in free agency like John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka and then you luck out with a scrap heap pickup like Alfredo Aceves.

I'm not exactly sure about his medical history, I assume the New York Yankees let him go because he had an arm issue or something but whatever the reason, I'm psyched that he's crossed over to their bitter rivals.

Yesterday afternoon, he submitted his second good start in a row after being added to the rotation (for the injured Lackey and Dice-K). The Red Sox (28-22) won their 11th game out of their last 13 and it was another laugher, 14-1 in the series opener at Detroit's (25-24) Comerica Park.

Aceves (2-0) went six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run with two walks and six strikeouts in a game that was called off after 7.5 innings because of rain.

Max Scherzer (6-2) entered as one of the AL's top pitchers so far this season but he left with a bruised ego as the Red Sox put up 14+ runs in the second straight game for the first time since 1998. Scherzer lasted only two innings, allowing seven hits, seven earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 walks) had the most memorable hit, a three-run homer (his fifth bomb of the season). Moved up to the No. 6 spot, Carl Crawford continued to erase his terrible start. He went 4 for 5 with two triples, three RBIs and two runs.

Recent callups Josh Reddick (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Drew Sutton (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) also had big days that no doubt they'll be telling their grandkids or bums at the homeless shelter about in a few years.

Tim Wakefield (Boston's other substitute in the rotation) starts tonight against Tigers youngster Rick Porcello.

Red Sox take a dump on the Cleveland Indians, leave town with a series win

I was all set to watch the series finale yesterday afternoon between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. However, when I flipped the game on the radio (while I was on the computer), I listened in amazement as they hung seven on Indians (30-16) starter Mitch Talbot in the first inning, en route to a 14-2 ass kicking.

Thanks to the blowout, I felt comfortable going to the gym and catching bits and pieces of the game when I could. The Red Sox (27-22) won the series and their 10th game out of their last 12 thanks to a season-high 20 hit attack including four homers and six doubles.

Jon Lester (7-1) was the lucky recipient of the ridiculous output from his offense. Lester threw six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. After a couple subpar outings in a row, it was nice to see him be lights out once again.

Talbot (1-1) deserves some sympathy since he was making his first start off the DL, against a red-hot team, but thems the breaks sometimes. In three innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Carl Crawford led the Red Sox, going 4 for 4 in his best game so far in an underwhelming season in Boston. He had a homer, two doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Jacoby Ellsbury (2 walks) and Drew Sutton (2 runs) had three hits while Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3 RBIs) and Mike Cameron all had two hits.

Pedroia, Ortiz and Saltalamacchia had the other homers in this joke of a game.

Boston travels to Detroit for a four-game series beginning with an afternoon game today. Alfredo Aceves takes on Max Scherzer.

Red Sox finally top the world beating Indians

After four tries in 2011, the Boston Red Sox (26-22) finally beat the Cleveland Indians (30-16) 4-2 last night at Progressive Field.

Josh Beckett (4-1) picked up his first regular season win in Cleveland (who could ever forget his legendary start there in the 2007 playoffs?) after 6.2 innings. He allowed five hits, one earned run with three walks and six strikeouts.

Fausto Carmona (3-5) went eight innings for the Indians but he allowed five hits, four earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts.

The unlikeliest of heroes stepped up at the plate for Boston as Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer, his first in almost a year (May 30, 2010).

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo homer to Travis Buck in the ninth but recovered to get his ninth save of the season.

Some Amish guy named Ezequiel Carrera gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second which scored Buck.

Jed Lowrie tied it up in the third with a sacrifice fly which drove in Carl Crawford. The Red Sox went ahead for good later in the frame on Adrian Gonzalez's RBI double (scoring Jacoby Ellsbury).

Varitek's two-run bomb in the seventh plated David Ortiz.

Jon Lester takes on Mitch Talbot this afternoon in the series finale.

Cleveland rocks (or so I've been told)

Sooner or later in 2011, the Cleveland Indians will come back to Earth. Right? Maybe not for MLB's surprise top team.

For the fourth time this season in four games at Cleveland's Progressive Field, the Indians (30-15) beat the Red Sox (25-22). Last night, the Tribe rallied for a 3-2 win as Daniel Bard (1-4) once again failed to get the job done.

Bard deserves blame since he you know, threw the pitches. However, Red Sox manager Terry Francona should get some heat too since he had Bard face Asdrubal Cabrera (who was 5 for 5 on Sunday and had hit a solo homer earlier last night) with first base open and a struggling Shin-Soo Choo up next.

Cabrera hit an RBI double off Bard which scored Michael Brantley (who had tied it with an RBI single) with the winning run in the eighth.

Indians closer Chris Perez worked around two hits in the ninth to get his 13th save of the season. Carl Crawford ended the game by grounding into a double play.

Clay Buchholz started for Boston and yet again, he shut down the opposition enough to earn a win. He went 7.1 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and two walks with four strikeouts. He was pulled after 94 pitches since he threw an obscene 127 in his last start.

Former Red Sox pitcher Justin Masteron (who went to Cleveland in the Victor Martinez trade on July 31, 2009) continued to baffle his old team. He also got a no decision but he pitched well. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs with two walks and three strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single that scored Crawford.

Cabrera tied it up with his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Crawford answered with just his second homer of the season-solo of course-in the fifth.

Tonight figures to be another pitcher's duel as Josh Beckett opposes Fausto Carmona.

Tim Wakefield: your grandparents' favorite Red Sox player

I'd say the weekend series against the Chicago Cubs was a success for the Boston Red Sox.

Sure, a nightmare of an eighth inning on Saturday night prevented them from getting the sweep but Friday's blowout win (15-5) and last night's tidy 5-1 win at Fenway Park proved that the Red Sox (25-21) are built to win any type of game. On the other side, the Cubs (20-25) are not very good at all as this weekend proved and it's going to be another long season, not that they're drunken fans will really notice.

Tim Wakefield (1-1) helped Boston win its eighth game in its last nine tries, his first victory of 2011. The oldest player in MLB went 6.2 innings, allowing four hits and one earned run with three strikeouts.

With Matt Garza scratched from the start with elbow trouble, the Cubs had to rely on a shaky bullpen, led by some bum named James Russell (1-5). He went four innings, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, one walk with two strikeouts before turning it over to three other scrubs and Kerry Wood.

Adrian Gonzalez continued to be the best hitter in baseball not named Jose Bautista as he went 4 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. Dustin Pedroia added two hits and a run, David Ortiz had two hits and Kevin Youkilis added a two-run triple.

The Red Sox scored twice in the fourth on RBI sacrifice flies by Jed Lowrie and Mike Cameron (who shouldn't have a job in baseball anymore) which scored Gonzalez and Youkilis respectively.

Saltalamacchia crushed his third homer in four games (yes even he has started to hit, a sure sign of the Apocalypse) in the fifth, his third of the season for a 3-0 Boston lead.

Jeff Baker's RBI double in the seventh spoiled Wakefield's unlikely shutout bid, scoring Starlin Castro.

Youkilis hit his two-run triple off Wood in the seventh to the triangle in center. Pedroia and Gonzalez scored on the play.

After getting two games off, Daniel Bard looked refreshed and worked out of the seventh and got a clean eighth, finishing with two strikeouts.

Jonathan Papelbon allowed a hit but struck out two in the ninth during the non-save situation.

What better place for the Red Sox to go than Cleveland? The Indians are the best team in baseball right now and they swept Boston in the first week of April. This three-game set could serve to show how far the Red Sox have come from that disastrous start and April in general. Clay Buchholz opposes former Red Sox Justin Masterson tonight. I'd be shocked if Cleveland sweeps Boston again.

Sorry Justin Verlander, even you cannot stop the Boston Red Sox right now

Another game, another win for the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford continues to toil at the bottom of the lineup but he still delivered his third walkoff hit in May as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 last night at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (23-20) have won a season-high six in a row thanks to contributions from everybody: great starting pitching, timely hitting, excellent relief and plain old luck.

The Tigers (22-21) came into Boston hot but left after a two-game sweep with interleague play starting for everybody this weekend.

A pitcher's duel between Detroit ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox stud Josh Beckett was overshadowed by Crawford's heroics. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Crawford (2 hits) crushed a single over the head of Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson which plated pinch runner Darnell McDonald. Detroit porn star and reliever Al Alburquerque (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Neither starter got a decision as Verlander went eight innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs with nine strikeouts. Beckett departed after six innings (with a stiff neck, man baseball players are warriors), five hits, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

Andy Dirks (what is with these names?) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second.

J.D. Drew tied it up in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Things looked to be turning in Boston's favor as Drew hit a solo homer in the fourth and David Ortiz (3 hits, quietly having a very solid season) followed with a solo shot of his own in the seventh.

Matt Albers got a scoreless seventh (1 hit, 2 strikeouts) but Detroit hit a pair of solo homers off Daniel Bard in the eighth. Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera did the honors.

No worries though, the Red Sox are finding every possible way to win right now and this time, it didn't even take extra innings. Just another ho hum walkoff.

The Chicago Cubs come to Fenway for a three-game series which kicks off tonight. It's the first time since the 1918 World Series (remember that classic?) that the Cubbies have been to Boston. I can feel the collective boners from all the baseball nerds across the world. It promises to be a memorable weekend in Boston.

Red Sox are finally getting used to this winning thing

Rain, mist or fog can't stop the Boston Red Sox right now as they won their fifth straight game last night, 1-0 against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.

Clay Buchholz got a no-decision but he had his fourth straight superb start for Boston (22-20). He went seven scoreless innings with a season-high 127 pitches. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.

Phil Coke was the unlikely Detroit (22-20) pitcher that matched Buchholz pitch for pitch. He also went seven scoreless innings, gave up three hits, one walk and struck out four.

It was a weird night with terrible weather, including a 26-minute rain dealy in the eighth inning, so it makes perfect sense that Red Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia came up with the biggest hit of the game.

After Carl Crawford walked in the eighth, Saltalamacchia delivered with an RBI double which plated the winning run.

Daniel Bard (1-3) picked up his first win of 2011 with a 1-2-3 eighth, including a strikeout.

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a leadoff double to former Red Sox Victor Martinez to start the ninth but settled down to get the last three outs (including two strikeouts) for his eighth save of the season.

Justin Verlander and Josh Beckett is the exquisite pitching matchup tonight in the series finale. It's too bad Bruins-Lightning Game 3 is tonight as well (starting at 8 p.m.) since this could be one of the best games of the year.

Adrian Gonzalez's first walk-off hit as a member of the Boston Red Sox

If the Boston Red Sox go anywhere this season, I can guarantee that highlights of last night's improbable victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park will be featured prominently.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run double off the Monster in the bottom of the ninth off Orioles closer Kevin Gregg giving Boston (21-20) its fourth straight win, 8-7 over Baltimore (19-21).

The Daisuke Matsuzaka experience was in full effect during a miserable, rainy night. He went 4.1 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs, seven walks and two strikeouts. I don't know who they could put in his rotation spot but hopefully the Red Sox brass can come up with another fake injury and they can give him a seat next to John Lackey on the disabled list.

The Orioles built up a 6-0 lead with two runs in the first, one in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Derrek Lee had an RBI double in the first and Vlad Guerrero (3 hits, 2 runs) drove in a run with a ground out. Matt Wieters had an RBI single in the third, Mark Reynolds had an RBI single in the fifth and J.J. Hardy drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Finally, Adam Jones had an RBI single in the sixth.

After Orioles starter Chris Tillman pitched five scoreless innings, Jed Lowrie (2 hits, 2 runs) got the comeback underway with an RBI double in the sixth. Jason Varitek and Gonzalez added RBI singles in the frame and Kevin Youkilis roped an two-run RBI double to pull the Red Sox within a run at 6-5.

Reynolds hit a solo homer to center off Boston reliever Alfredo Aceves (1-0) in the seventh to give the Orioles a 7-5 lead. It turned out to be the only mistake for Aceves as he went three innings for the win. He allowed two hits and struck out one for his first win with the Red Sox.

Varitek cut it to 7-6 in the seventh with another RBI single.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits) walked and stole second with one out in the ninth against Gregg. Pedroia worked a nine-pitch walk, setting the table for Gonzalez's sweet stroke off the Wall.

Tim Wakefield gets the ball tonight in place of Lackey. The O's counter with young lefty Zach Britton (5-2). Boston looks to sweep the two-game set and continue this stretch of good baseball.

They did it! Red Sox reach .500 mark!

After 40 games in the 2011 season, the Boston Red Sox finally reached the .500 mark with a 7-5 win last night at Yankee Stadium.

It couldn't have come in much better fashion as it enabled the Red Sox (20-20) to not only sweep the three-game series against the Yankees (20-18) but send New York into a tailspin as they've lost their last five games in a row and nine of their last 12.

Jon Lester (5-1) battled through a subpar outing and still managed to give Boston some innings. Are you paying attention John Lackey? Lester went six innings, allowing five hits, four earned runs, four walks with seven strikeouts.

Freddy Garcia (2-3) couldn't match Lester even on a very off-night for one of MLB's best. In 5.1 innings, he allowed six hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and four strikeouts.

The Yankees got out to a 4-1 lead but it wasn't enough to stem the tide of a lost weekend in the Bronx for the Bombers.

Mark Teixeira (2 hits) had an RBI single in the first which drove in Derek Jeter for a 1-0 Yankees lead.

Jed Lowrie tied it in the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Andruw Jones hit a solo homer in the second and Curtis Granderson blasted a three-run bomb off Lester in the same frame.

Yankee Stadium continued to be a glorified Little League park (and to think people make fun of Fenway) as Youk tied it in the third with a three-run bomb of his own.

David Ortiz (3 hits) put Boston ahead with a solo shot in the fifth.

Alex Rodriguez made a fielding error on about the easiest play imaginable in the seventh, allowing Youk to score and put the Red Sox up 6-4.

A-Rod atoned for his mistake with an RBI double in the seventh off former Yanks reliever Alfredo Aceves but Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits) gave Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon some breathing room with a solo homer in the eighth off the ghost of Joba Chamberlain.

Bard survived two walks to get four outs in the seventh and eighth while Papelbon recorded a 1-2-3 ninth (with a strikeout) for his seventh save of the season.

The Red Sox return home for a seven-game homestand (Orioles, Tigers and Cubs!) in rainy Boston. With only 3.5 games seperating first-place Tampa Bay and last-place Baltimore, it's time to forget about Boston's terrible start. It's a thing of the past and they still have 122 (haha) regular season games left.

They begin with two against Baltimore starting tonight with Daisuke Matsuzaka taking on Chris Tillman. With rain forecasted and the usual Dice-K roller coaster, I would say give your tickets away if you have them and drink heavily or use drugs if you plan on watching this one on TV.

Josh Beckett owns the Yankees (at least so far this season)

It's funny how in a couple days, the New York Yankees have become a complete mess with a legendary player (Jorge Posada) removing himself from the lineup while the Boston Red Sox look like a team that has underachieved so far this season but is built for big things in 2011.

The Red Sox (19-20) shut out the Yankees (20-17) 5-0 last night at Yankee Stadium with Josh Beckett (3-1) outdueling CC Sabathia (3-3) for the second time in a month.

It was the second straight win for Boston in the Bronx and they'll go for the sweep tonight on Sunday Night baseball.

Beckett went six scoreless innings, allowing four hits, two walks with nine strikeouts.

Sabathia matched Beckett for the first four innings before giving up two runs in the fifth and four in the seventh. The big lefty went 6.2 innings, allowing seven hits, six earned runs, three walks with six strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 RBIs) got the Red Sox on the board with a two-run double in the fifth.

Boston benefited from a missed strike call on Jason Varitek in the seventh. On the next pitch, he laced an RBI single which scored Mike Cameron. Later in the frame, Adrian Gonzalez hit a three-run homer (his ninth of the season and fourth in his last four games).

Dustin Pedroia added three hits, a run and a stolen base in the win.

Curtis Granderson was the only Yankee with multiple hits. He had two hits and a stolen base.

The two most pleasant surprises in the Boston bullpen continued to get it done. Matt Albers pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth with two strikeouts while Rich Hill threw a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts of his own.

Tonight is the fifth time that the Red Sox have a chance to get to the .500 mark. Jon Lester will take on Freddy Garcia as Boston goes for the three-game sweep.

Beating the Yankees cures all

After a slow start to his 2011 season, Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz has settled in during May. He's 3-0 so far this month and shows signs that last season wasn't a fluke and likewise he won't be suffering much of a sophomore slump.

Boston (18-20) won 5-4 last night at Yankee Stadium behind another strong outing from Buchholz (4-3), a nice start to an important series against the Yankees.

He went seven innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs, one walk and seven strikeouts.

After his shady stem cell surgery, Yankees (20-16) pitcher Bartolo Colon (2-2) is pitching like it's 2005. He went six innings, allowing five hits, three runs (two earned), three walks and four strikeouts.

I for one am not surprised at all that he's throwing in the upper 90s again. Makes total sense really, haha!

The Red Sox got out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a solo homer by Adrian Gonzalez (eighth of the season) and a ground out by Carl Crawford, which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Russell Martin, that noted Boston killer, tied it with a two-run bomb in the fifth (his seventh of the season). Once again, I'll note that we could have had him for peanuts this season.

Gonzalez put the Red Sox back ahead with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and Youkilis followed with a two-run blast (his sixth of the season) off his nemesis Joba Chamberlain.

Daniel Bard came in for the eighth and he was erratic. Curtis Granderson scored on his wild pitch but he survived by only giving up the one run.

Jonathan Papelbon entered in the ninth and also gave up a run, on an RBI single by Granderson (which scored Jeter) but he did enough for his sixth save of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury had two hits, a run and stolen base in the win.

Josh Beckett and the Red Sox will try to build some momentum as he takes on CC Sabathia tonight in the Bronx. Beautiful scheduling there by MLB, three straight night games. Don't ask me why today isn't an afternoon game, especially with the Bruins-Lightning series starting tonight at 8 p.m. Just Bud being Bud.

2011 Boston Red Sox cannot seem to get to the .500 mark to save their lives

It's going to happen eventually, I hope, but for the time being the Boston Red Sox simply cannot get to the .500 mark let alone jump over it.

For the third time in the 2011 season, they had a chance to get to .500 last night but once again, they fell short in a 7-6 loss in 11 innings at the Rogers Centre.

Jon Lester wasn't right from the start, giving up three runs in the first inning but the Red Sox (17-19) battled back to tie it multiple times, including a ninth-inning run off Blue Jays (16-20) closer Frank Francisco.

Lester struggled through 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, five earned runs with five walks and five strikeouts. He was done after 114 pitches.

The poor pitching by Boston ruined a great night by its bipolar offense. The Red Sox put up a season-high 16 hits led by Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs), David Ortiz (3 hits, 2 runs, RBI), Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits extending his hit streak to 19 games, stolen base), Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 walks, run, stolen base) and J.D. Drew (2 hits).

Rookie Kyle Drabek (5 innings, 8 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts) didn't give the Blue Jays much but his bullpen was just a hair better than Boston's.

Carl Crawford (10 game hit streak) cut it to 3-1 in the second with an RBI single. A solo homer by Ortiz (fifth of the season) in the fourth and Gonzalez's two-run blast in the fifth gave the Red Sox a 4-3 advantage.

Jose Bautista and J.P. Arencibia had solo homers in the fifth and sixth respectively to put Toronto back ahead 5-4.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia tied it in the eighth with an RBI single.

Rookie David Cooper hit a solo homer in the eighth off Daniel Bard but Gonzalez came through with the clutch homer in the ninth off Francisco to tie it.

With Matt Albers (0-1) on the mound, Rajai Davis singled in the tenth then stole sceond and third base on him and Jason Varitek. Cooper drove Davis home with a deep sacrifice fly to center.

This mini-series ends tonight with John Lackey opposing Jesse Litsch. You know what that means: I won't be watching much since A) Lackey will be shelled as per usual and the Celtics are facing the Heat while Miami has the chance to close out Boston.

Carl Crawford, for the win!

I think it's time for Carl Crawford to move up in the Red Sox' lineup. He is finally ready to get out of the eighth spot hitter's purgatory. Haha although don't ask me where to put him, maybe fifth?

For the second time on the homestand, he had a walk-off hit to help Boston win. Last night it was an RBI double in the 11th that took care of the Minnesota Twins (12-21) at Fenway Park.

It let the Red Sox (17-18) end the season-high 11 game stay at home 6-5 with their third straight win over the Twins while inching them one game away from .500. Baby steps right?

Josh Beckett was outstanding, throwing seven scoreless innings but he wound up with the no-decision after Jonathan Papelbon blew the save opportunity in the eighth (his first of the season). Beckett allowed six hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Hideki Okajima (1-0) was the unsung hero as he threw a career-high 42 pitches and managed to submit a scoreless 10th and 11th despite allowing two hits and walking two. He also struck out three.

Nick Blackburn was similarly good for Minnesota but he departed with a no-decision as well. He went 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run with three walks and five strikeouts.

Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) continued his excellent play with an RBI single in the fifth that scored Jason Varitek (2 hits) and gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

Jason Kubel broke his bat but was able to get an RBI single off Papelbon in the eighth which plated Denard Span.

Crawford's RBI double in the 11th was off the Monster and rookie Jose Iglesias (pinch running for Jed Lowrie who walked) raced around and just beat the relay for the exciting win.

Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hit streak to 18 games with a single.

Boston hits the road for two in Toronto then their first visit to Yankee Stadium this season takes place this weekend.

Jon Lester goes up against on Kyle Drabek tonight at the Rogers Centre.

Jacoby Ellsbury & Adrian Gonzalez are on fire

Despite what the Bill James' and stat geeks of the world will tell you (through 1000 page books and boring websites), baseball is and will always remain a simple game.

To that point, when you have a leadoff hitter that is consistently getting on base and a middle of the lineup bat that is driving guys in, you are going to have a potent offense.

Such is the case right now with the Boston Red Sox, leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez (their No. 3 hitter).

Ellsbury had three hits, a run and a stolen base yesterday afternoon and Gonzalez had a grand 29th birthday with three hits (including a solo homer), two runs and two RBIs as the Red Sox (16-18) beat the Minnesota Twins (12-20) 9-5 at Fenway Park.

After losing the series opener on Friday night (its third loss in a row), Boston has bounced back with back-to-back wins against Minnesota, who is a complete mess at the moment. Much of the Red Sox' spotty success lately has been due to Ellsbury and Gonzalez who are both currently on fire.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-3) was at his frustrating best yesterday as he gave up three runs in the top of the first but settled down to go six innings, allowing only one more run. He gave up five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Connecticut native Carl Pavano (2-4) has had a terrible start to the 2011 season-trust me, I had him on two fantasy teams-and that continued yesterday. In five innings, he allowed ten hits and seven earned runs with a walk. With that, I dumped him from both teams (and yes, I know you care).

The Red Sox banged out a season-high 14 hits with Kevin Youkilis (4 runs, 2 hits) and David Ortiz (2 hits) also recording multiple hits.

Jason Kubel (3 hits, 2 RBIs) had an RBI single to start Minnesota's big first inning. Danny Valenica (3 RBIs, 2 hits) topped that with a two-run single of his own.

J.D. Drew began the Red Sox comeback with an RBI ground out in the second. In the third, Jason Varitek cut it to 3-2 with another RBI ground and Gonzalez delivered an RBI single in the third to tie it at three. Youk's fielder's choice put Boston up 4-3 in the third before Drew came through with an RBI single to cap off the five-run third for Boston.

Valencia's solo homer in the fourth made it 5-4 Red Sox but Gonzalez answered with a solo shot (his fourth of the season) in the fifth over the Monster. A fielder's choice by Drew increased the lead to 7-4 in the same frame.

Jed Lowrie put this one in the win column with a two-run single in the seventh.

The Twins got one more run on Kubel's RBI single in the eighth.

Matt Albers went two innings (giving up three hits and one earned run but striking out three) and Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless ninth.

Josh Beckett faces Nick Blackburn tonight in the series finale. A win here by the Red Sox would cap off a nice 3-1 series. Beckett last started during the rain delayed game against the Angels last Wednesday, so he should be raring to go since he only went 4.1 innings then.

Another lengthy rain delay but Red Sox decide to win this one

I don't know when Boston turned into Seattle in terms of rain but this has been a rough stretch for the Red Sox both on the field and with the weather.

They battled another rain delay over two hours (two hours and seven minutes) yesterday afternoon but blanked the Twins 4-0 at Fenway Park thanks to a nice effort from Clay Buchholz.

Buchholz (3-3) started the game and surprisingly returned to the mound in the top of the third after the rain delay ended. He threw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and he struck out six.

Minnesota starter Brian Duensing (2-2) was yanked after two innings. He allowed three hits, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts and picked up the loss despite throwing just 33 pitches.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 RBIs, run), Kevin Youkilis (RBI), Carl Crawford (run) and Marco Scutaro all had two hits in the much-needed win for the Red Sox (15-18), which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Jed Lowrie gave Boston a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single which drove in Ellsbury.

Youkilis drove in Adrian Gonzalez in the third with an RBI single of his own.

Ellsbury put it out of reach for the Twins with a two-run single in the eighth. Jarrod Saltlamacchia and Crawford scored on the play.

Boston's bullpen came through with four scoreless innings of work. Rich Hill (sixth), Matt Albers (seventh), Daniel Bard (eighth) and Jonathan Papelbon (ninth) combined to allow only one hit with one walk and four strikeouts.

Daisuke Matsuzaka opposes Carl Pavano today in a Mother's Day matinee.